Wow, 2018 is here already! Seems like just last month I was writing 2017 on everything! Actually, I was but seems like last month was last January. They say, “Time flies when you’re having fun!” (Don’t really know who the original “they” were but I’ve heard it a lot!) Well, the older I get, the faster time goes whether I’m having fun or not, so it’s important to get a jump on things in the new year to make sure I don’t have things left over when time runs out in 2018!

With that intimidating note, I want to encourage each of you, especially you PICs (Pharmacists-In-Charge) out there, to get a jump on a couple of tasks you should be doing every year. The first is your Department’s self-inspection. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation now requires that every pharmacy complete a self-inspection annually and maintain a record of it for five years, just like every other record required in pharmacy! If you’ve never seen one of these inspection forms, I promise I won’t tell, but you can find one for On-site Institutional Pharmacies right here! If your institution has an outpatient pharmacy here’s your form. You need to complete these annually for any one or ones you are responsible. If your time to self-inspect is in the summer or fall, at least take this time to go to your calendar and add at least two or three reminders so you don’t forget and get caught empty-handed. The one thing that I’ve heard recently from all of you is that the Department investigators are beginning to make their rounds in the hospitals again!

And once the self-inspection is completed, don’t forget to correct the deficiencies you’ve found. A completed form that identifies shortcomings that haven’t been corrected is almost as bad as no form at all. It points the investigators right to your problems. But no form is actually worse. The investigators are good; they will find your deficiencies and still ding you for not having the form too.

Second, make sure you’ve taken that annual Controlled Substance inventory. CII meds need to be accurately counted and documented and CIII-V’s need to approximated and documented. Another item that will quickly bring you face-to-face with a member of the Board of Pharmacy and various and sundry members of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation staff! The Department doesn’t provide a form for this so use your formulary to get a print out and make sure that when it is completed it is signed by the PIC and at least one other registrant under the Act (that means pharmacist, pharmacy technician or yes, you can use a student pharmacist!). And again, put a couple reminders in your calendar if this is a mid-year or end-of-the-year task! Plus, don’t forget that if the PIC changes during the year, an inventory must be done, with or without the old PIC! But the new PIC must sign! 

I’m sure there’s probably more tasks like this to knock out early, but these two can have significant consequences if you forget. So kick off your New Year with these two tasks under your belt, you’ll have a great start and two less things to worry about during 2018. Get a jump on 2018! You’ll appreciate it later.